Eat Well, Sleep Enough and Move to Stay Healthy

What is physical well-being? It means having good health and enough energy to do the things you need to do and want to do. How do you maintain physical well-being in our busy lives? Here are a few suggestions.

What You Eat

Think about what you eat. If possible, try cooking meal yourself, which can be fun and help you keep an eye on what you and your family are consuming. Meals are meant to be enjoyed, not scrutinized, and when you cook meals yourself, you don’t have worry so much about what’s on the plate because you know what went in the pot.

How and How Much to Move

A few years ago, research started coming out about the dangers of sitting all day…which is really unfortunate when most of what we all do for a living involves… sitting all day! We now know it’s more important than ever that people find ways to move throughout the day.

Keep it simple by going for a walk during the middle of the day. If you have time, go to the gym at least a few times a week. If not, try doing some activity with your family.

There are plenty of opportunities to keep your body moving, especially if you take the time to make it a priority.

Are You Sleeping Enough

Sleep is critical for many areas of well-being. While we’re talking about physical well-being, it’s important to note that emotional well-being is affected by sleep quality and how much you get. Although we are all different, eight hours is the recommended number of hours we should sleep.

Keep in mind, your body’s heart and blood vessels repair themselves while you sleep. In fact, ongoing sleep deprivation is linked to several disease states including diabetes, obesity, heart disease and stroke.

So how do you improve your sleep if you are lacking? Create a calm, soothing space for sleep and develop a bedtime routine that includes quiet time, soothing music or reading, and avoids eating or drinking, staring at a screen or late-night exercise.